Frank Virtuose Rockets Rollin' And Rockin'/ Rock-Good Bye Mambo Melodisc 1386 78
£
35
$
46
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Description
This 10-inch UK shellac pressing features Philadelphia bandleader, guitarist, and producer Frank Virtuoso (billed here under the European spelling variant, Frank Virtuose) performing with his studio outfit, the Rockets. Side A features "Rollin' And Rockin'", an urgent, uptempo early rockabilly and rhythm-and-blues track driven by a frantic vocal delivery and sharp electric guitar leads. Side B delivers "Rock-Good Bye Mambo", which fuses a driving guitar-led backbeat with a syncopated Afro-Cuban rhythmic foundation.
Recording Year
The tracking sessions took place in early 1956 for Rhythm Records in the United States, with this sought-after British edition manufactured and issued on 78rpm shellac later that same year by London's independent Melodisc Records label under catalogue number 1386.
Released during the foundational explosion of international rock and roll in 1956, this record captures the sudden commercial integration of black rhythm-and-blues structures into mainstream youth entertainment. The inclusion of a mambo track on the reverse side reflects a prominent mid-1950s socio-cultural phenomenon: the alignment of urban Latin dance crazes with the burgeoning teenage subculture. This release illustrates how independent British labels bypassed conservative major-label distribution networks to supply imported, raw American dance music to a post-war British public hungry for transatlantic modernism.
Frank Virtuoso later shortened his professional name to Frank Virtue and achieved massive global chart success in 1959 with the famous instrumental hit "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" as the leader of The Virtues. After his touring years, he established Virtue Recording Studios in Philadelphia, which became a critical production house where foundational architects of the historic "Philly Soul" sound recorded early master tracks.
Condition Report
• Grade: Excellent (E)
• Visual: Highly preserved dark shellac surfaces retaining their clean, deep original factory gloss. Under close inspection beneath directional light, only faint, microscopic surface wisps from paper sleeve removal are visible.
• Audio: Strong, loud, and crisp audio output. The fidelity handles the high-volume master frequencies cleanly with minimal background surface hiss or groove distortion.
• Labels: Pristine Melodisc labels displaying crisp typography, bright contrast, and no significant spindle markings around the center hole.
Postage & Packing Information
Transporting brittle 1950s shellac discs demands meticulous safety procedures to prevent structural fractures. The disc will be placed securely between internal square sheets of thick card, wrapped thoroughly in multiple layers of heavy-duty bubble wrap, and isolated inside an oversized, rigid doubleskin corrugated cardboard box utilizing protective void fill to neutralise external impact vibrations during transit.
Your order will be carefully packed and promptly dispatched.
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